Rutgers looked like a team assured of a high NCAA Tournament seed, dominating on both ends and blistering the No. 12 Illini, 70-59, at Jersey Mike’s Arena to continue a stunning run.
Rutgers has won four straight games — over Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin and now Illinois — and seven of nine. Despite a number of bad losses, including setbacks to Lafayette, Northwestern and Massachusetts, the Scarlet Knights are very much in the NCAA Tournament picture. They certainly pass the eye test at the moment, after picking up their seventh Quad 1 victory.
To see how far the Scarlet Knights have come, they fell to Illinois by 35 points in the first meeting. In the following game, they upset then-No. 1 Purdue at the buzzer, a win that began to flip this season.Experienced stars Ron Harper Jr. and Geo Baker have been joined by improving teammates Caleb McConnell, Cliff Omoruyi and Paul Mulcahy to form a standout starting lineup.
Baker wasn’t a factor against Illinois , scoring just six points, but it didn’t matter. Omoruyi was a monster in the paint, notching 15 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. Mulcahy was again exceptional as a playmaking forward, with 13 points and seven assists. Harper finished with a team-high 16 points.
But this game was about force, and how dominant Rutgers was on the defensive end. The Scarlet Knights limited the Illini to 26 percent shooting from 3-point range, outrebounded them 46-38 and held the edge in points in the paint , fastbreak points and second-chance points .Share this article:
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